While staying at a Kibbutz hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee we were shown around the permanent residents area. Kibbutz means group in Hebrew so a kibbutz is a democratic group with communal ownership of property. As someone old enough to have been a student at the time everyone was keen to spend time at a kibbutz they seem to have changed quite a lot over the last 50 years.
The Modern Kibbutz
Once the focus was entirely on agriculture and producing food but apparently now many kibbutz have factory type production lines for various items and people are able to work away from the kibbutz and keep a portion of their wages. Indeed our hotel was a large commercial venture and I guess large sums of money are involved. The original ideals are still upheld but the regime seems to have softened, meals are not always taken together and, although there is still day care for children, childcare is more personal then it was a generation or two ago.
The Museum Boat
The kibbutz also houses a small museum containing what they call The Galilee Boat. It was discovered on the shore when a drought lowered the water levels.
it has been carbon dated and proven to be from the time of Jesus.
